Portland, OR – The 2021 Viking tennis team appears to be the real deal as it picked up another dominant Big Sky Conference win over Montana, 6-1, on Sunday at Babette Horenstein Tennis Center.
 
Montana was picked to win the Big Sky Conference in the preseason coaches poll. Meanwhile, Portland State was picked to place fifth. However, the Vikings are 3-0 so far, having beaten Eastern Washington, Montana State and now Montana. They scored 17 of 21 points in those matches.
 
PSU improves to 7-5 overall and has now won three straight. The victory completed a weekend sweep for the Vikings as they beat Seattle University, 6-1, in a non-conference match Friday. PSU also closes out its home season with a perfect 6-0 record.
 
Portland State came out strong once again in doubles. Nikola Dimitrijevic and Bryan Husin teamed for a quick 6-2 victory at number-three doubles, followed close behind by Tommy Hsu and Sam Roberts' 6-3 win at number-two. The decisive doubles point went the Vikings' way. As a result, Matteo Fortini and Tommy Edwards had their number-one doubles match go unfinished leading into singles play.
 
Hsu was the first Viking to record a singles win. He defeated Chase Bartlett, 6-2, 6-2. That improved his singles record to 7-5 this season.
 
Like Hsu, Fortini picked up his second singles win of the weekend as well. Playing at number-one, the senior defeated Ed Pudney in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
 
Nils Plutat was able to clinch the match for the Vikings at number-five singles. He came in with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Guillermo Martin. That gave PSU an insurmountable 4-1 edge. Plutat is 7-4 in singles this season.
 
Roberts pulled out an exciting match at number-six. He trailed in all three sets, including 3-2 in the final. But he came back to beat Moritz Stoeger, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Roberts is now 6-2 in singles this season.
 
Dimitrijevic also pulled out a comeback victory, winning at number three over Milo Benn, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Dimitrijevic is 7-5 in singles this season.
 
Edwards dropped a tense match at number two, losing to Oisin Shaffrey, 6-3, 7-5. He too, has a 7-5 singles record this season.
 
With the loss, Montana drops to 3-8 on the season, 0-1 in the Big Sky.
 
Portland State will go on the road this week, playing non-conference matches at UC Irvine on Wednesday, UC San Diego on Thursday, then Point Loma on Friday.
 
Singles Results
#1 Matteo Fortini, PSU def. Ed Pudney, PSU, 6-4, 6-3
#2 Oisin Shaffrey, UM def. Tommy Edwards, PSU, 6-3, 7-5
#3 Nikola Dimitrijevic, PSU, def. Milo Benn, UM, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
#4 Tommy Hsu, PSU def. Chase Bartlett, UM, 6-2, 6-2
#5 Nils Plutat, PSU def. Guillermo Martin, UM, 6-4, 6-4
#6 Sam Roberts, PSU def. Moritz Stoeger, UM, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
 
Doubles Results
#1 Tommy Edwards/Matteo Fortini, PSU vs. Milo Benn/Ed Pudney, UM, unfinished
#2 Sam Roberts/Tommy Hsu, PSU def. Oisin Shaffery/Pontus Hallgren, UM, 6-3
#3 Nikola Dimitrijevic/Bryan Husin, PSU def. Chase Bartlett/Moritz Stoeger, UM, 6-2